Hey there! Let’s talk about having reliable color and interest to our Southern landscapes year-round. That sounds wonderful, doesn’t it?! To have many things blooming in the dead humid heat of August and also colorful blooms in the middle of winter! In this post, we will give a (non- exhaustive) list of ideas of plants and flowers to achieve that year-round color and, so this post doesn’t get to be too much, in the next post we will go more in-depth on tips for creating a garden with many months of color. Come along!
To start off, let’s give a list of plants and flowers that do well in our Middle TN area. Beside each plant, we have stated whether it is a perennial (meaning it comes back year after year) or is an annual in our area.
Beginning with winter:
Lenten Rose; perennial (also known as Christmas Rose)
Pansies; annual
Coral Bells; perennial (no flower in winter, but colorful foliage year round)
‘Arctic Fire’ dogwood; shrub (beautiful brilliant red twigs in the winter)
Late winter/early spring:
Crocus bulbs; perennial (must be planted the fall before)
Daffodil bulbs; perennial (must be planted the fall before)
Pansies; annual
Forsythia; shrub
Flowering Quince; shrub
Loropetalum ‘Ever Red’; shrub
Spring:
Tulip bulbs; perennial (must be planted the fall before)
Bleeding Heart; perennial
Columbines; perennial
Azaleas and Rhododendrons; shrubs
Late spring/early summer:
Peonies; perennial
Irises; perennial
Dianthus; perennial
Spring/Summer annuals are blooming and bloom until frost-begonias, geraniums, vinca, zinnias, impatiens, etc.
Early roses
Creeping Phlox; perennial
Astilbe; perennial
Summer:
More roses
Daylilies; perennial
Hydrangeas; shrub
Black Eyed Susan; perennial
Coneflower;perennial
Butterfly Bush; shrub
Veronica; perennial
more Spring/Summer annuals blooming
Fall:
Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’; perennial
Chrysanthemums; perennial
Asters; perennial
Pansies; annual
Ask us any gardening questions at the nursery! We hope you have a great day.